South Korea's exports witnessed growth for the 11th consecutive month in August, driven by foreign demand for smartphones, semiconductors, and other goods, official data showed. 

According to the latest report by the East Asian nation's customs office, South Korea's headline exports rose by 11.4 percent in August compared to the same month of the previous year. 

The customs office added that South Korea's semiconductor exports expanded by 38.8 percent year-on-year last month. 

South Korea's Trade Surplus at $3.8 billion

The report further noted that the country's overall imports also increased by 6 percent year-on-year in August, while the nation's trade surplus stood at $3.8 billion last month. 

According to the government data, some of the goods which are propelling South Korea's foreign trade includes, semiconductors, automobiles and refined oil products. 

South Korean authorities believe that a resurgence in global trade could help the country's economy expand to the mid-2 percent range in 2024. 

Moreover, South Korea's economy is expected to benefit from the recent boom in artificial intelligence, with companies from the East Asian nation including Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. already emerging as global players. 

Semiconductor Market to Drive South Korea's Economy

Madhavi Bokil, senior vice president of strategy and research at Moody's Ratings, said before the data release that South Korea's economy will benefit by the rise in the semiconductor market. 

"A cyclical upswing in global semiconductor demand will help offset domestic sluggishness in Korea's economy into next year," said Bokil. 

Bokil further noted that South Korea's economy is set to expand by 2.5 percent and 2.3 percent in 2024 and 2025, respectively. 

She added: "We expect external demand for AI-related chips as well as US and EU-driven investment in new sectors such as EVs and renewable energy to offset domestic weakness and support a rebound in growth to 2.5 percent in 2024 and 2.3 percent in 2025."